The Fall of The Berlin Wall
On the 9th November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. This is the story of the protests within the German Democratic Republic that led to its fall.
As the International guests and delegates drank their champagne in the Palace of the Republic to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the GDR, there was something more serious stirring in the country. The voices of reform were getting louder as the Soviet Union was tittering on the edge. In Hungary, the government had begun to dismantle its border fence with Austria. The first gap in the Iron Curtain had opened and with it came a desire for more freedoms. Czechoslovakia would soon follow.
Those gaps within the curtain would encourage many from the GDR to travel to those regions in the hope of finally getting to the West. Change was happening and yet in the eyes of the GDR officials, it was simply ignored. They had controlled so much of people’s lives during their 40 years that, in their minds, this was simply just another political game. Small concessions were of course being made in an attempt to appease the restlessness but what GDR officials miscalculated was that their numbers had swelled.
The champagne that flowed that day within those walls could not wash down what was really happening. Those within the Palace might have been treated to the finer facades that come to those in positions of power but in reality, the GDR was crumbling beneath them. Little did they know just over a month later, the socialist dream that they had concocted over their 40 years in power would soon come tumbling down. They may not have known it at the time but this was far from a birthday celebration but more like a pre-emptive wake.
Whilst those in the Palace of the Republic celebrated, others were protesting. Outside the Gethsemane Church in East Berlin, 1,500 protesters had gathered for a candlelight demonstration. The apparatus of power dealt with the protest in the same way that they always had done before. Round up the ringleaders and the others involved in order to remind society who was in charge. It was a tactic that worked throughout the country’s existence. Imprisonment, monitoring, surveillance, and a fist of fury were common practices for those involved in any form of protest and the events at Gethsemane Church were no different as police crushed the protest arresting around 500 people.
“Life punishes those who come too late.” Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev was in attendance at the 40th anniversary celebrations. The leader of the Soviet Union, whose Glasnost policy opened the door for more openness and transparency within government institutions, had urged the GDR’s leader, Erich Honecker, to implement reforms. Gorbachev told Honecker that “life punishes those who come too late".
With Gorbachev’s words ringing in his ears, Honecker decided to react. Yet, his reaction was nothing to what Gorbachev actually meant. Instead of implementing Glasnost as Gorbachev was eluding to, Honecker opted to force the status quo by ordering the head of the Stasi, Erich Mielke, to initiate “Day X”. Day X was no ordinary order. It had been planned in case of an emergency and had been slowly building in its apparatus since 1979. 23 “isolation and internment camps” including Ranis Castle, were prepared to house the 85,939 individuals who were currently being monitored by the Stasi. Under the codename: “Shield”, the arrest orders were sent to all of the 211 local Stasi precincts. To Mielke’s dismay, they were ignored as local Stasi operatives opted to barricade themselves within their offices for fear of reprisals.
Prior to the 9th of October, most protests within the GDR were often of the size of that at Gethsemane Church. There was of course a good reason for this. The fear implemented by the SED and the Stasi had over their citizens. Calling for civil rights was a dangerous game yet despite this, one of the largest protests in GDR history was being prepared. Unknown to the citizens of Leipzig at the time was just how far their protest and courage would set in motion not just the fall of the Berlin Wall but also of the country.
Approximately 70,000 people would gather in the streets of Leipzig. Fear of reprisals was no doubt at the back of everyone’s minds. The protesters in Leipzig chanted “No violence!” in order to avoid giving the authorities an excuse to attack. Whilst the national GDR media mentioned little about the events in Leipzig, the protestors knew that the story would be big news in the West. Undercover footage and interviews soon found their way on Western news channels.
The events in Leipzig had turned the tables. Now they faced the Stasi offices with defiance as the shadow men cowered behind their desks. It also probably explains why the local Stasi authorities did little when instructed to initiate “Day X”. The country's called “Sword and Shield” was now looking blunt and damaged.
Protests continued throughout the country. In order to appease the voice of the people, the SED forced Erich Honecker from office. For Honecker, the words of Gorbachev had come to fruition. However, the damage was now done. The hope that this would change the mood would soon be quashed as the protests continued.
In Alexanderplatz, East Berlin, on the 4th of November, the biggest demonstration against the government occurred. It is estimated that anywhere between half a million to a million protesters filled the area that day. Unlike some of the other protests, this one was permitted that place by the authorities. Televised live on East German TV, people from all over the GDR were able to witness for themselves what was happening. Speeches came from all parts of the spectrum. From actors, artists, and civil rights campaigners to members of the ruling authorities such as Markus Wolf (former head of the East German foreign intelligence service) and Politburo members.
The reception for the likes of Markus Wolf was particularly uncomfortable for the authorities. Bärbel Bohley would later say this of Markus Wolf’s time at the microphone: “When I saw that his hands were trembling because the people were booing I said to Jens Reich: We can go now, now it is all over. The revolution is irreversible."
The revolution may have started yet no one foresaw what would happen next. One of the Politburo speakers on the 4th of November was Günter Schabowski. Like Markus Wolf, he had received a frosty reception complete with boos and jeers. Just five days after the Alexanderplatz demonstration it would be Schabowski’s press conference that would lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
“As far as I know...immediately.” Günter Schabowski
The cabinet had passed a decree on travel regulations allowing for more freedom. Schabowski was meant to announce it at the conference in full but didn’t completely read the memo. There was meant to be an embargo until the next day at 4 am when the radio announcers were supposed to read out the decree to the nation.
After reading out the decree live on television, Schabowski was asked: “When will that happen?” Schabowski, having not read the memo fully, simply stated: “As far as I know...immediately.”
Recalling the event, Schabowski later said “Hundreds, thousands of people flocked to the boarded checkpoints, where they were blocked by the guards, who didn’t know any of this".
Overwhelmed, the guards desperate for any official orders, opened the barriers and let the people through. The GDR, only one month after celebrating its 40th birthday, had fallen without the firing of a gun but instead, a peaceful revolution despite the desperate attempts of Honecker and Mielke to hold onto power. Instead of Day X, there was a new dawn in Germany.